Alachua Update

From the comments. There's some stuff at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance that I was going to post just now, but I decided the Charlie post needed to come first here. --Renee

News from Alachua for friends of Charlie. He is doing well. But has been working 24 hours a day for nearly a year. The work has been difficult but is now starting to pay off as people are seeing through the haze of spin and framing.

The local news blockade has effectively kept this story fairly quiet until now. But even the major media outlets in Alachua County are now seeing through the facade.

Please take a look at the front page story of the Gainesville Sun today and help us spread the word around. Charlie needs our help. You would be proud of the work he is doing. Many of us were skeptical about the role the internet can play in local politics. But he has shown us the importance of community and that includes the wider community that stretches across the nation.

Alachua makes waves by doing things its own way
By AMY REININK
Sun staff writer

ALACHUA - The public comment period of last Monday night's city meeting started as many others do - with people lining up behind the podium to criticize or praise a recent decision by city officials.

Residents quoted Maya Angelou, Thomas Jefferson and Florida election laws to back up their points. They cheered and booed other speakers' comments. Some called city officials everything from incompetent to ignorant. Others thanked them for bringing positive change to the community.

At issue was the city's decision to disqualify the three people who challenged two incumbent commissioners in the city's April 10 election for what city officials said was incomplete paperwork. That decision would have essentially called off the election.

See more here.

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